1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices for dispensing beverages. More particularly, the invention concerns a manually operated apparatus for operating the air pump of beverage dispensers of the character having an internally disposed air pump that includes a depressible plunger which, upon being depressed, causes the beverage to be dispensed from the container.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In recent years, beverage dispensers having internally mounted air pumps for dispensing the beverage from the dispenser have become very popular. In operating these types of dispensers, a plunger, which is usually mounted to the top of the dispenser, is depressed by the user to pressurize the interior of the dispenser container in a manner to controllably force the beverage from the container through a side mounted dispensing spout.
Dispensers of the aforementioned character are widely used in fast-food restaurants, including donut shops and the like for dispensing hot coffee and other beverages. In many instances several dispensers are located side by side in the serving area of the restaurant. The dispensers may be operated either by the customer or by employees of the restaurant.
In those establishments where the beverage is dispensed from the air pump dispensers by the employees, the repetitive pumping action required by the employee can become quite tiring by days end. Additionally, when hot beverages, such as coffee and tea are being dispensed, serious burn injuries can occur if the dispenser is accidentally tipped during the pumping action or if the arms or hands of the user accidentally come too close to the outlet of the dispenser during the dispensing operation. Additionally, because the pumping operation itself is cumbersome and somewhat awkward, the employees hands and arms can be unduly stressed sometimes causing numbness and other physical problems.
In the service establishments where the customer dispenses the beverage from the air pump dispensers, there is a danger that the customer can be seriously injured if the dispenser is not properly constrained or if the dispenser is operated in an improper and unsafe manner. Where several air pump dispensers are placed side by side in a restricted serving area, the risk of injury during the dispensing, particularly of hot beverages, increases because of the crowded serving conditions and because of the awkward manner in which the air pump of the typical dispenser must be operated.
The thrust of the present invention is directed toward solving the problems discussed in the preceding paragraphs by providing a novel, easy-to-use operating apparatus for safely operating the air pumps of the beverage dispenser while the dispensers are constrained in a secure position within the serving area. More particularly, the operating apparatus of the invention, which can simultaneously support and operate a plurality of air pump dispensers, safely constrains the dispensers within an upright supporting structure of novel design to which a number of lever-like, air-pump operating arms can be pivotally connected. The operating arms, each of which includes a pump engaging member, is separately movable from a first at rest position to a second, downward operating position. Because of the mechanical advantage offered by the lever-like operating arms of the device, the plunger component of the air pump can be effortlessly depressed while the dispenser is being securely held in position within the superstructure the device.